Information processing apparatus and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus and an information processing method are capable of correctly selecting data to be deleted, without a user having to perform a troublesome operation. In a backup operation, a determination is made for each image file as to whether a predetermined condition is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, image files are backed up, and storage priority levels defined for these image files are reduced in accordance with a rule predefined by a user. The storage priority level is a measure indicating the priority of keeping an image file in a storage unit. The higher the storage priority, the lower the probability that image files are deleted. The storage priority levels are changed depending on whether image files have been backed up and depending on the number of times image files were backed up.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus,such as a digital camera, and an information processing method.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, a great increase in the capacity of storage media forstoring electronic data has been achieved, and the storage capacity isstill rapidly increasing. Some new types of digital cameras have alarge-capacity built-in storage medium that is not exchangeable. Such atype of digital camera is also called a medialess digital camera.

In a case where a user of a digital camera stores image data in astorage medium so that the image data can be played back whenever theuser wants to do so, if the storage medium is of an exchangeable type,it is possible to store unlimitedly store image data by exchange thestorage medium as required. However, in the case of medialess digitalcameras, the storage medium disposed therein has an upper limit on thestorage capacity no matter how large the storage capacity is, and thusit is necessary to delete some image data sooner or later.

The free space of a storage medium decreases to a low level if a largenumber of image data are stored therein. In such a situation, it is verytroublesome to find, from a large number of image data, image data thatis not necessary to be retained further and delete the found unnecessaryimage data.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-100971 discloses a technique todelete image data stored in a digital camera. In this technique, imagedata is deleted one by one taking into account information described ina print log. More specifically, storage priority information is added toimage data on the basis of the print log, and deleting of image data isperformed according to the storage priority information.

Although the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2001-100971 makes it easier to delete unnecessary image data from thestorage medium, the technique has the following problems. First, whenthere is image data that a user wants to keep in the form of electronicdata, there is a possibility that some or all of such image data thatshould be kept is deleted by mistake. Second, when a user wants to keepimage data in a specific device, the desire of the user is not reflectedin the storage priority information. That is, the desire of the user isnot taken into account in the deletion of image data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the present invention provides a technique tosolve all or at least one of the problems described above.

The present invention provides an information processing apparatusincluding an acquisition unit configured to acquire electronicinformation, a storage unit configured to store the electronicinformation acquired by the acquisition unit, a transmission unitconfigured to transmit the electronic information stored in the storageunit to the outside, an addition unit configured to add priority, interms of keeping the electronic information stored in the storage unit,to the electronic information stored in the storage unit, a change unitconfigured to change the priority depending on a result of thetransmission performed by the transmission unit, and a deletiondetermination unit configured to determine electronic information to bedeleted preferentially, in accordance with the priority.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of adigital camera (an information processing apparatus) according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of data stored in a storageunit.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a backup operation performed underthe control of a digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating details of a backup operation.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of deleting image fileswithout a user having to select images.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a backup operation performed underthe control of an external backup device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofa backup system.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are sequence charts illustrating a process performed by acamera to detect a connection with a storage device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a sequence charts illustrating a process as to datacommunication with a storage device, performed by a camera according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a backup system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of adigital camera (an information processing apparatus) according to anembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 100 includes a camera controller101 and a user operation unit 102. The camera controller 101 receivesinformation as to operations performed by a user from the user operationunit 102 and controls various processes such as an image capturingprocess, an image information writing process, an image informationreading process, etc. More specifically, for example, when anotification of starting of a release operation is received from theuser operation unit 102, the camera controller 101 performs the imagecapturing process. The user operation unit 102 accepts variousoperations such as pressing of a button performed by a user, andrequests the camera controller 101 to control the camera operationaccording to the operation performed by the user.

The digital camera 100 further includes a display 103, an imagecapturing unit 104, and a storage unit 105. In accordance with a requestfrom the camera controller 101, the display 103 displays various kindsof information for a user. The image capturing unit 104 functions as anacquisition unit configured to convert an optical image into digitalinformation under the control of the camera controller 101 and transferthe obtained image data to the storage unit 105. The storage unit 105 isconfigured to store the image data produced by the image capturing unit104 in the form of a file (electronic information) in a storage area ofa flash memory or the like. In the present embodiment, a storage mediumthat provides the storage area is unremovable and has a fixed storagecapacity.

The digital camera 100 also includes an image managing unit 106 having astorage priority operation unit 107. The storage priority operation unit107 operates to specify the storage priority that is a measure of thepriority in terms of keeping image files in the storage unit 105. In thepresent embodiment, for example, the storage priority levels areexpressed by integers such that greater values indicate higher priority.The image managing unit 106 manages images in accordance with thestorage priority. More specifically, for example, the image managingunit 106 selects an image file to be deleted and selects an image fileto be backed up.

The digital camera 100 also includes a communication unit 108 configuredto communicate with an external backup device (transmission targetdevice) and transmit/receive image data to/from the external backupdevice.

The parts 101 to 108 described above are connected to each other via aninternal bus 109 so that signals and image files can be transmittedamong the parts 101 to 108 via the internal bus 109.

Next, the structure of data stored in the storage unit 105 is describedbelow. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the structure of data stored inthe storage unit 105.

As shown in FIG. 2, one image file 201 is assigned to one image data 203produced by the image capturing unit 104. The image file 201 alsoincludes an image file name 202, a storage priority level 204, and abackup log 205.

The image file name 202 is a name uniquely assigned to each piece ofimage data 203 produced by the image capturing unit 104 of the digitalcamera 100 in responses to an image capture operation performed by auser.

The storage priority 204 is, as described above, the measure of thepriority in terms of keeping the image file 201 in the storage unit 105.The higher the storage priority 204 of the image file 201, the lower theprobability of being deleted. When the image file 201 is produced, aninitial value of the storage priority level thereof is assigned by theimage managing unit 106. The initial value of the storage priority levelmay be set to, for example, 4, although the initial value is not limitedto 4. Alternatively, the initial value may be set by a user. The storagepriority level 204 changes mainly depending on whether backup has beenperformed and depending on the number of times the backup was performed,as will be described in further detail below. A description will also begiven below as to how the storage priority level 204 is used.

The backup log 205 represents various kinds of information associatedwith the storing of the backup data of the image file 201 in an externalbackup device such as a personal computer. More specifically, forexample, the backup log 205 includes information indicating a backupdata storing date/time, information (ID) identifying an external backupdevice in which the backup data is stored, and a folder path where thebackup data is stored. The backup log 205 is described in further detailbelow.

An operation of storing an image file in an external backup device isexplained below for a case where the operation is performed under theprimary control of the digital camera 100. FIG. 3 is a flow chartillustrating a backup operation performed under the control of thedigital camera.

First, in step S401, if the digital camera 100 is connected by a user toan external backup device, the camera controller 101 startscommunication with the external backup device. The connection betweenthe digital camera 100 and the external backup device may be realized bya wireless or wired connection.

Next, in step S402, the camera controller 101 determines whether theexternal backup device connected to the digital camera 100 is a devicespecified as an automatic backup device. The automatic backup devicerefers to an external backup device having an experience of beingconnected to the digital camera 100 and specified as an “automaticbackup device” via the user operation unit 102. If the camera controller101 determines that the digital camera 100 is connected to an automaticbackup device, the processing flow proceeds to step S411, but otherwisethe processing flow proceeds to step S403.

In step S403, the camera controller 101 determines whether a pluralityof external backup devices are connected to the digital camera 100. Ifit is determined that a plurality of external backup devices areconnected, the processing flow proceeds to step S404, but otherwise theprocessing flow proceeds to step S406.

In step S404, the display 103 displays a dialog to prompt a user tospecify one of the plurality of external backup devices as a device towhich the backup data is to be stored. In response, the user selects oneof the external backup devices via the user operation unit 102 (stepS405). The process then proceeds to step S406.

In step S406, the display 103 displays a dialog to prompt the user tospecify a folder in which the backup data is to be stored. In response,the user specifies a folder in which the backup data is to be stored,via the user operation unit 102 (step S407).

Next, in step S408, the display 103 displays a dialog to prompt the userto specify a reduction value by which to reduce the storage prioritylevel for the image data to be subjected to the backup process. Inaccordance with a value specified by the user via the user operationunit 102, the camera controller 101 sets the reduction value by which toreduce the storage priority level (step S409). That is, the cameracontroller 101 operates as a change value determination unit to set thereduction value, as a predetermined condition, indicating the reductionvalue by which to reduce the storage priority level.

Subsequently, in step S410, the camera controller 101 stores backupsetting data including a combination of information input by the user insteps S405, S407, and S409, in the storage unit 105. More specifically,the backup setting data includes the information indicating the externalbackup device, the information indicating the folder in which to back upthe image data, and the information indicating the reduction value bywhich to reduce the storage priority level. The backup setting data mayfurther include information such as a password used in authentication ofthe user of the external backup device. The process then proceeds tostep S415. The user may refer to the backup setting data and may set theexternal backup device as an automatic backup device. As describedabove, device information associated with each device to which data istransmitted, and information indicating the manner of changing thepriority defined for each device or each device type are stored inadvance. When the backup process or the image data transmission processis performed, the information is referred to, and the storage priorityis updated depending on the device to which the image data istransmitted. Note that there is no restriction on the timing of settingthe external backup device. For example, when the backup setting data isproduced, a user may be asked to decide whether the external backupdevice is set as an automatic backup device. Alternatively, after asequence of processes is completed, a user may perform the setting byoperating the user operation unit 102.

In step S411, the camera controller 101 determines whether a pluralityof automatic backup devices are connected to the digital camera 100. Ifit is determined that a plurality of automatic backup devices areconnected to the digital camera 100, the process proceeds to step S412,but otherwise the process proceeds to step S414.

In step S412, the display 103 displays a dialog to prompt the user tospecify one of the plurality of automatic backup devices to which thebackup data is to be stored. In response, the user selects one of theautomatic backup devices via the user operation unit 102 (step S413).The process then proceeds to step S414.

In step S414, the camera controller 101 reads the backup setting dataincluding the information associated with the automatic backup devicespecified in step S413 from the storage unit 105. The process thenproceeds to step S415.

In step S415, the camera controller 101 performs a backup process on theimage file via the communication unit 108. The backup process isperformed according to the information set in steps S407 and S409 or theinformation read in step S414, as will be described in further detailbelow.

Thereafter, in step S416, the camera controller 101 releases theconnection with the external backup device (automatic backup device).

Next, details of the backup process in step S415 are explained below.FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the details of the backup process instep S415.

In the backup processes (S501 to S506), steps S502 to S505 describedbelow are performed repeatedly on each image file until all image fileshave been processed.

In step S502, the camera controller 101 determines whether the followingtwo conditions are satisfied:

-   (1st Condition) Whether the image file of interest has not yet been    backed up in the external backup device (or the automatic backup    device) of interest; and-   (2nd Condition) Whether the storage priority level is equal to or    greater than 1.

The determination as to whether the first condition is satisfied or notcan be made by checking the backup log 205 associated with the imagefile 201. The determination as to whether the second condition issatisfied or not can be made by checking the storage priority level 204assigned to the image file 201. If the camera controller 101, operatingas a transmission determination unit, determines that the two conditionsare satisfied, the process proceeds to step S503. However, in a casewhere at least one of the two conditions is not satisfied, the cameracontroller 101 makes the determination in step S502 for a next imagefile (step S506).

In step S503, the camera controller 101 copies the image file into theexternal backup device via the communication unit 108.

Thereafter, in step S504, the storage priority operation unit 107subtracts the value indicated by the reduction value of storage priorityincluded in the backup setting data from the storage priority level 204and stores the result in the storage unit 105. That is, the storagepriority operation unit 107 operates as a change unit to change thestorage priority level 204 in accordance with a result of thecommunication performed via the communication unit 108.

Subsequently, in step S505, the image managing unit 106 updates thebackup log 205 and stores the updated backup log 205 in the storage unit105.

Thereafter, the camera controller 101 makes the determination in stepS502 after step S506 for a next image file.

Via the process described above, the image file 201 is backed up(copied) in the external backup device. As a result of the backupprocess, the storage priority level 204 changes, and the backup log 205is updated. The storage priority level 204 is reduced each time thebackup process is performed. That is, if the reduction value of storagepriority is set to be constant, then the storage priority level 204 ofeach image file 201 simply decrease with increasing number of times theimage file 201 is backed up. That is, the greater the number of times animage file 201 has been backed up in the external backup device, thelower the storage priority level 204. In other words, the greater theprobability that a backup copy of an image file 201 can be foundanywhere when the image file 201 is deleted from the digital camera 100,the lower the storage priority level 204 assigned to the image file 201.

When an external backup device connected to the digital camera 100 isrecognized as an automatic backup device, an automatic backup process isperformed without having to produce backup setting data. That is, it ispossible for a user to perform the automatic backup process only byperforming a very simple operation. Furthermore, it is possible toprevent the same image file 201 from being backed up a plurality oftimes in a single external backup device. It is also possible to preventa further backup operation from being performed for image files having alow storage priority level 204 and thus having a high possibility thatthey have already been backed up in some external backup devices. Thatis, the determination based on the backup log 205 (step S502) makes itpossible to prevent the image file 201 from being backed up a greaternumber of times than necessary.

Next, deleting of image files from the digital camera 100 is discussedbelow. In the present embodiment, a user is allowed to select imagefiles and delete the selected image files in a similar manner to theconventional manner. In addition, it is also possible to delete imagefiles without a user having to select image files. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of deleting image files, which isperformed without a user having to select image files.

First, in step S301, the camera controller 101 determines whether thestorage unit 105 has a free storage space equal to or greater than astorage capacity threshold value. The storage capacity threshold valueis set, for example, by a user. More specifically, for example, the usersets the storage capacity threshold value to be equal to or greater thanthe storage space necessary to store image files that will be producedduring the image capturing operation that is going to be performed. Ifit is determined that the current free space is equal to or greater thanthe storage capacity threshold value, the file deleting process is endedwithout deleting any image file. In this case, the image capturingoperation is performed using the image capturing unit 104, and a newimage file produced as a result of the image capturing operation isstored in the storage unit 105. On the other hand, if it is determinedthat the current free space is smaller than the storage capacitythreshold value, the processing flow proceeds to step S302.

In step S302, the camera controller 101 determines whether there is animage file 201 with a storage priority level 204 equal to or lower thana priority threshold value. The priority threshold value is also set bya user. The priority threshold value is set, for example, to “0”. If animage file 201 is found that has a storage priority level 204 equal toor lower than the priority threshold value, the processing flow proceedsto step S303. However, if no image file 201 is found that has a storagepriority level 204 equal to or lower than the priority threshold value,the processing flow proceeds to step S304.

In step S303, the camera controller 101 operates as a deletiondetermination unit to determine that the image file 201 detected in stepS302 are preferentially deleted because their storage priority 204 isequal to or lower than the priority threshold value, and the cameracontroller 101 deletes the selected image file 201. In a case wherethere are a plurality of image files 201 with a storage priority level204 equal to or lower than the priority threshold value, if the imagefiles 201 have different values of the storage priority 204, the imagefiles 201 are deleted in increasing order of the storage priority level204. In a case where there are a plurality of image files 201 having thesame storage priority level 204, the image files 201 are deleted inorder from oldest to latest image capture date/time. Thereafter, theprocessing flow returns to step S301.

In step S304, the camera controller 101 notifies the user via thedisplay 103 that no more image can be captured because there is noenough free storage space. Thereafter, the process is ended.

In the operation according to the present embodiment, image files 201are deleted in increasing order of the storage priority level 204. Thatis, deleting is performed first for image files 201 that have alreadybeen backed up in one or more external backup devices and that have thusa low risk of having a problem when they are deleted from the digitalcamera 100. Therefore, it is possible to delete only image files 201regarded as being probably unnecessary to be further kept while keepingimage files 201 that have a high storage priority level 204 and are thusregarded as being necessary to be further kept in the storage unit 105.

By properly setting the storage priority, it becomes possible toselectively delete image files depending on weights indicating theintention of a user as to which device is used to keep image data.

A discussion is given below on a first example case in which it isassumed that a device A and a device B are used as backup devices, and auser manages image files using the device A. It is also assumed that, inthe user's mind, image files that have already been backed up in thedevice A are allowed to be deleted from the digital camera 100, whileimages files that have already been backed up in the device B areallowed to be deleted when the free storage space of the storage unit105 decreases to an unacceptably low level even, if they are not backedup in the device A. The storage priority levels are initially set to“4”. In this first example case, for example, in step S409, the user mayset the reduction value of storage priority to “4” for image files thathave already been backed up in the device A and to “2” for image filesthat have already been backed up in the device B, and, in step S302, theuser may set the threshold value to “2”.

When the values are set in the above-described manner, if an image fileis backed up in the device A, then the storage priority of thisbacked-up image file is changed to “0”. On the other hand, if an imagefile is backed up in the device B, then the storage priority of thisbacked-up image file is changed to “2”. The storage priority levels aremaintained at “4” for image files that have not yet been backed up ineither device. Therefore, if it is determined that the free storagespace of the storage unit 105 has become lower than the threshold value(step S301), the image files backed up in the device A arepreferentially deleted from the storage unit 105 (steps S302 to S303).In a case where the image files stored in the storage unit 105 includeno image files that have already been backed up in the device A, imagefiles that have been backed up in the device B are deleted from thestorage unit 105 (steps S302 to S303). On the other hand, in a casewhere image files stored in the storage unit 105 have not been backed upin either the device A or the device B, any image file is not deleted,and a message is displayed to indicate that no more images can becaptured (step S304).

Next, a discussion is given below on a second example case in which itis assumed that a device A and a device B are used as backup devices,and a user manages image files using both devices A and B. It is alsoassumed that, in the user's mind, only image files that have alreadybeen backed up in both devices A and B are allowed to be deleted fromthe digital camera 100. The storage priority levels are initially set to“4”. In this second example case, for example, in step S409, the usermay set the reduction value of storage priority to “2” for image filesthat have already been backed up in the device A and to “2” for imagefiles that have already been backed up in the device B, and, in stepS302, the user may set the threshold value to “0”.

When the values are set in the above-described manner, if an image fileis backed up only in the device A, then the storage priority of thisbacked-up image file is changed to “2”. If an image file is backed uponly in the device B, then the storage priority of this backed-up imagefile is changed to “2”. The storage priority levels are maintained at“4” for image files that have not yet been backed up in either device.For image files that have been backed up in both device A and device B,the storage priority is set to “0”. Therefore, if it is determined thatthe free storage space of the storage unit 105 has become lower than thethreshold value (step S301), only the image files backed up in both thedevice A and the device B are deleted from the storage unit 105 (stepsS302 to S303). On the other hand, in a case where image files stored inthe storage unit 105 have not been backed up at least one of the deviceA and the device B, any image file is not deleted, and a message isdisplayed to indicate that no more images can be captured (step S304).

In the manner described above, it is possible to delete image filesaccording to the intention of the user.

In the backup operation, the digital camera 100 has a primary control,for example, in a situation in which the digital camera 100 is set as amaster device and the external backup device is set as a slave device.In an opposite situation, the backup operation is performed under thecontrol of the external backup device. The backup operation is explainedin further detail below for the case where image files stored in thedigital camera are backed up in the external backup device under thecontrol of the external backup device. FIG. 6 is a flow chartillustrating the backup operation performed under the control of theexternal backup device.

First, in step S600, the camera controller 101 determines whether thedigital camera 100 or the external backup device connected to thedigital camera 100 is set as a master device. In the case where thedigital camera 100 is set as a master device, the backup operation isperformed according to the processing flow shown in FIG. 3. On the otherhand, in the case where the external backup device is set as a masterdevice, the processing flow proceeds to step S601.

In step S601, the camera controller 101 establishes a connection betweenthe digital camera 100 and the external backup device. The cameracontroller 101 then starts a communication with the external backupdevice.

Next, in step S602, if the camera controller 101 receives a request fromexternal backup device, the camera controller 101 transmits an imagefile 201 to the external backup device via the communication unit 108 inaccordance with the request. The camera controller 101 storesinformation identifying the transmitted image file 201 in the storageunit 105.

In step S603, the camera controller 101 terminates the communicationbetween the digital camera 100 and the external backup device, and thecamera controller 101 turns off the electric power of the digital camera100.

If the electric power of the digital camera 100 is again turned onthereafter and the digital camera 100 is activated, then, in step S604,the camera controller 101 prompts the user to specify the reductionvalue by which to reduce the storage priority level 204 of the imagefile 201 subjected to the immediately previous backup process. Inresponse, the user specifies the reduction value by which to reduce thestorage priority 204. That is, in this step S604, the camera controller101 performs the process similar to steps S408 and S409 described above.Instead of specifying the value by the user, a fixed value may be set asthe reduction value by which to reduce the storage priority 204. In acase where there is a backup setting data associated with the externalbackup device, the reduction value of storage priority described thereinmay be employed. In the case where the reduction value of storagepriority is not specified by the user, it is desirable that thereduction value of storage priority be adjusted such that the reductionvalue of storage priority is smaller than that used in the case wherethe backup operation is performed under the primary control of thedigital camera 100.

Next, in step S605, the storage priority operation unit 107 subtractsthe value specified in step S604 from the storage priority 204 assignedto the image file 201 subjected to the immediately previous backupprocess, and the resultant new storage priority 204 is stored in thestorage unit 105. The process is then ended.

As described above, in the case where the backup process is performedunder the primary control of an external backup device, the timing ofdecreasing the storage priority 204 is adjusted such that the storagepriority 204 is changed after the backup is completed for all imagefiles of interest. That is, in the case where the backup process isperformed under the primary control of the digital camera 100, thestorage priority 204 is reduced each time one image file is backed up.In contrast, in the case where the backup process is performed under theprimary control of an external backup device, the timing of decreasingthe storage priority 204 is delayed. This is because the digital camera100 cannot recognize whether the backup of each image file 201 iscompleted or not, although the digital camera 100 can recognize whetherthe transmission of each image file 201 to the external backup device iscompleted. More specifically, for example, even when the digital camera100 is simply accessed by the external backup device, the digital camera100 receives a request similar to the backup request. That is,reliability in the backup process under the control of the externalbackup device is lower than in the backup process under the control ofthe digital camera 100. To avoid a problem due to the above, the timingof changing the storage priority 204 is delayed.

Thus, as described above, even in the case where the backup process isperformed under the primary control of the external backup device, it ispossible to properly change the storage priority 204. In the case wherethe reduction value of storage priority is set by a user, it isdesirable to adjust the reduction value of storage priority such thatthe reduction value of storage priority be smaller than in the casewhere the backup process is performed under the primary control of thedigital camera 100, because, if the reduction value of storage priorityis set to be equal to that used in the backup process under the primarycontrol of the digital camera 100, the above-described low reliabilityin the backup process under the control of the external backup devicecan cause an image file to be deleted in an unpredictable manner.

Note that the storage priority 204 does not necessarily need to bedescribed in the corresponding image file 201, but it may be storedseparately from the image file 201 in other storage areas in the storageunit 105. Furthermore, in the present invention, the file type is notlimited to the image file, but the invention may be applied to otherdata files such as an audio data file, a document data file, etc. Thestorage medium is not limited to that of the unremovable type, but aremovable storage medium may be used.

The communication between the digital camera and an external device suchas a personal computer or other types of storage devices may beperformed via a wired communication medium such as a USB (UniversalSerial Bus) bus or via a wireless communication medium. In the case ofthe wireless communication, the communication may be performed using anear field communication based on a communication protocol defined foruse in communication in a short range of 1 m or several ten centimeters.As for communication protocols, non-contact communication protocols areknown for use within a short range less than 70 cm and for use within avery short range less than 10 cm. These protocols are defined instandards ISO/IEC 15693, ISO/IEC 14434, ECMA-340 (ISO/IEC 18092) etc.

The present invention is very useful, in particular, when the controlaccording to the first embodiment described above is applied to a systemin which image data is automatically backed up using near fieldcommunication when a digital camera is brought to a location close to astorage device.

The near field communication is performed as follows.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a backup system using anear field communication. This backup system includes a camera 1100having a near field communication capability, a remote controller 1111for remotely controlling the camera 1100, and a storage device 1109functioning as a cradle. The storage device 109 has a near fieldcommunication capability and includes a storage medium 1091 such as ahard disk drive. The storage device 109 is capable of storing image datareceived from the camera 1100 via the near field communication in thestorage medium 1091. The storage device 1109 may be connected to apersonal computer (PC) 1200 via a cable or the like so that the storagedevice 1109 is operable under the control of the PC 1200.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofthe backup system using the near field communication. The camera 1100includes a system controller 1101 configured to control the operation ofthe whole camera, and also includes various functional blocks. Thesystem controller 1101 includes a nonvolatile storage medium for storinga control program or the like, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) forexecuting the control program, and a RAM used as a work area by the CPU.An image capturing unit 1102 includes an optical system having anautomatic focusing capability and a zooming capability, a control motorfor controlling the optical system, and an image sensing device such asa CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The image capturing unit 1102forms an optical image of a subject on an image sensing plane of theimage sensing device. The optical image of the subject is converted bythe image sensing device into an electrical signal of each pixel, andthe electric signal is further converted by an image processing unit1103 into digital data. The image processing unit 1103 produces imagedata file by performing image processing on the digital data inaccordance with the setting of the camera. The image data file is storedin the storage medium 1105 such as a semiconductor memory via a storagemedium interface 1104.

To play back the image data file stored in the storage medium 1105, theimage processing unit 1103 performs a process on the image data fileread from the storage medium 1105 to produce image data to be displayed.The resultant image data is displayed on a display 1106 under thecontrol of the system controller 1101. In the configuration shown inFIG. 7, the storage medium 1105 is firmly disposed in the camera 1100.Alternatively, the storage medium 1105 may be implemented in a removableform using a memory card or the like.

The display 1106 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)configured to display various GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) such as amenu screen and an image read from the storage medium 1105. The display1106 may also function as an electronic viewfinder by continuouslydisplaying images sensed by the image capturing unit 1102.

A communication interface 1107 establishes and releases a communicationchannel of near field communication with an external device via anantenna 1108. After the communication channel is established, thecommunication interface 1107 transmits/receives data to/from theexternal device via the established communication channel.

A PC 1200 includes, as with the camera 1100, a CPU, a RAM, a storagemedium, a communication interface, etc.

The camera 1100 may be controlled by a single piece of hardware or aplurality of pieces of hardware. In the case where a plurality of piecesof hardware are used, the plurality of pieces of hardware cooperate witheach other to control the whole camera. This also applies to the controlof the PC 1200.

In this system, the camera 1100 and the storage device 1109 are capableof communicating with each other. More specifically, it is possible totransmit image data stored in the storage medium 1105 of the camera 1100to the storage device 1109 to store it therein, and it is also possibleto transmit image data stored in the storage device 1109 to the camera1100 to store it in the storage medium 1105.

A user operation unit 1110 is a unit used by a user to issue a commandto the camera 1100. An operation performed by the user on the useroperation unit 1110 is notified to the system controller 1101. Thesystem controller 1101 controls various parts of the camera 1100 suchthat the camera 1100 operates according to the operation of the useroperation unit 1110. In the present embodiment, the user operation unit1110 includes an arrow-key pad also called a direction-key pad or acursor-key pad 1110 a, a set key also called an apply key or anexecution key 1110 b, and a menu key 1110 c.

As described above, the camera 1100 is capable of beingremote-controlled by the remote controller 1111. A signal (for example,an infrared signal) transmitted from the remote controller 1111 isreceived by a remote control signal receiver 1112 and supplied to thesystem controller 1101 via a remote control signal interface 1113. Thesystem controller 1101 controls various parts of the camera 1100 so thatthe camera 1100 operates according to the operation of the remotecontroller 1111. The setting as to whether remote control signals(thereby to remote-control the camera 1100) are accepted or not may beperformed by a user by performing a menu operation on the user operationunit 1110.

The remote controller 1111 includes operation keys corresponding tothose disposed on the user operation unit 1110 of the camera 1100. Thedata indicating the setting as to whether the remote control is enabledor disabled is stored, for example, in the nonvolatile storage medium1114. If the setting is changed, the data stored in the nonvolatilestorage medium 1114 is updated.

Connection Detecting Process

Next, referring to sequence charts shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, a connectiondetecting process performed by the camera 1100 to detect a connectionwith the storage device 1109 is explained below. A communicationprocedure shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C can also be applied to a case wherethe camera 1100 and the storage device 1109 operate oppositely such thatimage data stored in the storage device 1109 is transmitted to thedigital camera 1100. In view of the above, in the sequence chart of theprocedure of near field communication shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, a generalcommunication procedure is explained assuming that a connection requestis issued by a device A, and a device B responds to the connectionrequest.

To perform near field communication, it is necessary that the antenna ofthe device A and the antenna of the device B should be located within apredetermined small range (hereinafter, referred to simply as acommunication range). When a connection request is issued by the deviceA, if the antenna of the device B is located outside the communicationrange as is the case in FIG. 8A, the device B cannot receive theconnection request (S1201), and thus the device B returns no response tothe connection request. In this case, connection is not established.

When the distance between the antennas of the devices A and B(hereinafter, an expression “the distance between the devices A and B”will also be used to describe the distance between the antennas of thedevices A and B) is within the communication range, the connectionestablishment process is performed between the two devices.

A connection establishment process is shown in FIG. 8B for a case wherea connection request is issued from the device A to the device B in thesystem in which a connection between the devices A and B is establishedwhen the devices A and B come close to each other within thecommunication range, and the connection is maintained until the devicesA and B go away out of the communication range.

When the connection request is issued by the device A (S1201), if aresponse is returned from the device B to accept the connection request(S1202), the connection is established. The connection between thedevice A and the device B is maintained as long as they are locatedwithin the communication range unless a disconnection request istransmitted from the device A (S1205) and a disconnection response isreturned from the device B (S1206).

In this system, it is necessary to monitor the connection status byperiodically transmitting a connection monitor request from the device A(S1203). If a connection confirmation response is returned from thedevice B (S1204) in response to the connection monitor request from thedevice A (S1203), the connection is in a connected status, but otherwisethe connection is in a disconnected status. After the connection isestablished, if the distance between the device A and the device Bincreases beyond the upper limit of the communication range, no responseis returned to the connection monitor request (S1203), and thus thedevice A performs a connection release process as a timeout handlingprocess.

FIG. 8C shows a connection confirmation procedure between the device Aand the device B in a system in which connection and disconnection areperformed each time data is transmitted/received. The connection statuscan be confirmed by transmitting a connection request from the device A(S1201) and receiving a connection acceptance response from the device B(S1202). In the example shown in FIG. 8C, no data istransmitted/received, and thus, after the connection status isconfirmed, a disconnection request is transmitted from the device A(S1205) and the connection is released.

In the example described above, the confirmation of the connectionestablishment between the device A and the device B is performed on thebasis of confirmation on whether wireless communication is possible, theconnection establishment may be confirmed on the basis of thecommunication radio wave strength or the status of a mechanical switch.

Data Communication Process

Next, referring to sequence charts shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a datacommunication process between the camera 1100 and the storage device1109 is explained below. The communication procedures shown in FIGS. 9Aand 9B can also be applied to a case where the camera 1100 and thestorage device 1109 operate oppositely such that image data stored inthe storage device 1109 is transmitted to the digital camera 1100. Inview of the above, a general procedure of near field communication isexplained below assuming that a connection request is issued by a deviceA, and a response to the request is returned by a device B. In FIGS. 9Aand 9B, similar steps to those in FIG. 8A, 8B, or 8C are denoted bysimilar step numbers.

In the data transmission process shown in FIG. 9A, as in the processshown in FIG. 8B, a connection between the devices A and B isestablished when the devices A and B come close to each other within thecommunication range, and the connection is maintained until the devicesA and B go away out of the communication range.

If the device A transmits a data transmission request (S1301), thedevice B performs a data reception preparation process and returns areception-ready response to the device A (S1302). If the device Areceives this response, the device A transmits data to the device B(S1303). If the transmission of the data is completed, the device Atransmits a transmission end message to the device B (S1305). If thedevice B receives this message, the device B transmits a reception endmessage to the device A (S1306), and thus the data transmission processis completed.

FIG. 9B illustrates a procedure for a case where data is transmittedfrom the device B to the device A (i.e., the device A receives data Afrom the device B).

The device A transmits a reception request to the device B (S1307). Inresponse to this request, the device B performs a transmissionpreparation process, and returns a transmission-ready message (S1308).If the device A receives this response, the device A performs areception preparation process and returns a reception-ready message tothe device B (S1309). If the device B receives the reception-readymessage, the device B transmits data to the device A (S1310). If thetransmission of the data is completed, the device B transmits atransmission end message (S1312). If the device A receives this message,the device A transmits a reception end message to the device B (S1313),and thus the data reception process is completed.

In the embodiment described above, when a digital camera is brought to alocation close to a storage device, image data is automatically backedup using near field communication. When the image data backup process(or the image data transmission process) is performed, the storagepriority information may be advantageously updated in theabove-described manner.

When image data transmission is started in response to bringing thedigital camera to a location close to a target device to which the datais to be transmitted, there is a possibility that the target device isin various situations. For example, the target device may be a personalcomputer or a storage device possessed by a user, or may be a personalcomputer of a friend of the user. In another situation, the targetdevice may be a device for temporarily storing data.

In a circumstance in which image data is allowed to be transmitted tovarious devices, the storage priority may be determined depending on thedevice to which image data is transmitted so that the image data isdeleted immediately after the transmission or may be kept depending onthe storage priority.

More specifically, the storage priority may be controlled depending onthe target device to which image data is transmitted such that thepriority is reduced greatly when image data is transmitted to a PC of auser but the priority is maintained without being changed or may bereduced slightly when image data is transmitted to a storage device(such as a storage device of a friend) other than the PC of the user.

This makes it possible to minimize the risk that image data is deletedfrom a source device after the image data is transmitted from the sourcedevice to a target device that is not suitable for keeping the imagedata for a long term.

In particular, in a system in which image data is transmitted or backedup automatically, there is a possibility that a user is not aware whichdevice the image data is transmitted to. By controlling the priority inthe above-described manner, it is possible to reduce the probabilitythat image data that should be kept is incorrectly deleted compared to asystem in which image data is deleted unconditionally after the imagedata is backed up.

The embodiments described above may be implemented by executing aprogram on a computer. A medium used to supply the program to thecomputer such as a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROMdisk on which the program is stored or a transmission medium such as theInternet by which the program is transmitted may be used to implementthe embodiments described above. The program may be implementedaccording to one or a combination of the embodiments described above.Note that the program, the storage medium, the transmission medium, andthe program product fall within the scope of the present invention.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2007-332639 filed Dec. 25, 2007, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: an acquisition unitconfigured to acquire electronic information; a storage unit configuredto store the electronic information acquired by the acquisition unit; atransmission unit configured to transmit the electronic informationstored in the storage unit to destination outside of the informationprocessing apparatus; an addition unit configured to add priority, interms of keeping the electronic information stored in the storage unit,to the electronic information stored in the storage unit; a change unitconfigured to change the priority depending on a result of thetransmission performed by the transmission unit; and a deletiondetermination unit configured to determine electronic information to bedeleted preferentially in accordance with the priority.
 2. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising a change value determination unit configured to determine,according to a predetermined condition, an amount by which the priorityis changed by the change unit.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, further comprising a memory unit configured tostore information indicating a manner of changing the priority dependingon the destination to which the electronic information is transmitted,wherein the change value determination unit determines the amount of thechange using the information stored in the memory unit.
 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thechange value determination unit adjusts the amount of the changedepending on whether the destination, to which the electronicinformation is transmitted by the transmission unit, operates as amaster in the transmission.
 5. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a transmission determinationunit configured to determine electronic information to be transmitted bythe transmission unit, by selecting the electronic information from theelectronic information stored in the storage unit.
 6. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change unitadjusts the timing of changing the priority depending on whether thedestination, to which the electronic information is transmitted by thetransmission unit, operates as a master in the transmission.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetransmission unit is capable of automatically transmitting theelectronic information upon starting of communication with an externaldevice specified as the destination.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the communication by thetransmission unit is performed by a near field communication unit.
 9. Aninformation processing method utilized in an information processingapparatus, the method comprising: acquiring electronic information;storing the acquired electronic information in a storage unit;transmitting the electronic information stored in the storage unit to adestination outside of the information processing apparatus; addingpriority, in terms of keeping the electronic information stored in thestorage unit, to the electronic information stored in the storage unit;changing the priority depending on a result of the transmissionperformed in the transmission step; and determining electronicinformation to be deleted preferentially in accordance with thepriority.
 10. A computer readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions utilized in an information processing apparatus forinformation processing, the medium comprising: computer-executableinstructions for acquiring electronic information; computer-executableinstructions for storing the acquired electronic information in astorage unit; computer-executable instructions for transmitting theelectronic information stored in the storage unit to a destinationoutside of the information processing apparatus; computer-executableinstructions for adding priority, in terms of keeping the electronicinformation stored in the storage unit, to the electronic informationstored in the storage unit; computer-executable instructions forchanging the priority depending on a result of the transmissionperformed in the transmission step; and computer-executable instructionsfor determining electronic information to be deleted preferentially inaccordance with the priority.